Thursday, 30 September 2010

“We stand firmly behind the ‘Mt Roskill Against More Liquor’ group to oppose the establishment of the new bottle store on May Rd, and the further spread of off-license liquor outlets in Mt Roskill”, says Roskill Community Voice spokesperson Michael Wood.

“Roskill Community Voice has been concerned about this issue for a long time and we have made it one of our central campaign themes. Throughout the campaign we have warned that the current laissez faire rules are leading to a dangerous proliferation of liquor stores in Mt Roskill”, he continues.

“We are not anti-liquor, we just want reasonable controls in place so that we can keep our community safe. As it stands, we have a huge range of alcohol related problems in Mt Roskill, and yet another bottle shop will just add to the problem”

“We have had a number of calls from local residents and what is making them so angry about the May Rd bottle shop is that there has been no community consultation. The blame for that lies squarely at C&R’s door. In March of this year they block voted against proposals to better regulate off-license liquor stores. C&R voted against the community and to keep the free-market in liquor”

“We will actively support local residents in their fight against this particular store, and we will continue to campaign for our community to have a real say over liquor policy in our own backyard. In particular we will be making it a priority to push on with our call for a local liquor licensing trust that gives the community a direct say over liquor issues here in Mt Roskill”, concludes Wood.